Social Networks & Development

The ability to treat and prevent illness and improve human health requires not only a detailed understanding of the complex interplay of biological systems contributing to disease processes but also the mechanisms underlying the influence of social complexity on biological systems. A developmental systems science approach provides methods uniquely suited to elucidate the mechanisms by which social systems influence health by investigating their effects on modulating the interplay among biological systems during development. This NIH-funded research adopts this approach by modeling multi-level networked systems over time in a well-established nonhuman primate model. We are investigating how coordination and regulation of biological systems within individuals are critical to shaping health trajectories and are dynamically modulated by the complex network structure of individuals’ social relationships.